The Secret-Eater Monk

Painting: "The Secret-Eater Monk"

 

Location: Dochiariou Monastery, Mount Athos

 

About: The painting "The Secret-Eater Monk" hangs in the Archondariki (Guest House) of Dochiariou Monastery on Mount Athos as a warning of inappropriate eating habits. This is a modern painting based on a miracle that happened on Mount Athos in one of the monasteries. One of the monks who worked in the kitchen stole some food and secretly ate it in his cell in the evening. One day after Great Vespers, when everyone was going for supper, in the presence of many brethren, the earth opened and a serpent emerged from the earth, consuming the soul of the careless monk.   

The Authenticity of an Eerie 1932 Photograph from Mount Athos of Two Dead Excommunicated Monks

By John Sanidopoulos

In the monasteries of Mount Athos, when a monk dies, they are buried for three years until they are completely decomposed, then when only their bones are left bare they are placed in an ossuary to be stored with the bones of the other monks of the monastery. It is believed that a monk who lived a righteous life will decompose in three years, but if they are not decomposed then they are reburied and prayed over that their decomposition will soon come to pass, for it could indicate that there was a more nefarious reason behind the lack of decomposition.